Has anybody tried widening the opening for the handle/lock in a glass door?

[mboge]

I know this sounds a little crazy, but I bought a keyless entry lock for my 2024 Keystone 2870RL. It will fit in the hole (I've measured multiple times)... but I can't get it in there, because you have to go in at an angle and a small part of the exterior lock hits the glass when putting it in at an angle.

Here's that the opening looks like and I don't think I need more than 1/16" or maybe 1/8" more room at the points where the lock touches the glass.

I was thinking I could use a Dremel with a diamond bit to "shave" out the small areas at the top and bottom of the right side to get it to fit.

Thoughts?

 

[mboge]

This might help understand my problem. I'd love to be able to use this lock...

 

[JRTJH]

Tempered glass is UNFORGIVING !!!!! You can't cut it, can't reshape it, can't grind on it... If you try, you risk an extremely good (or actually really bad) chance of breaking the glass door. If I were you, I'd make a decision to either return the lock or modify the lock flanges so they fit the existing glass door cutout. Otherwise, call your insurance company and see if you can change your policy to lower your deductible. Otherwise, you'll probalby be buying a new glass door for your trailer.

 

[jxnbbl]

It has to go at an angle to slip the deadbolt part of it into the lock. Can you take the deadbolt off the lock, position it in the edge of the door and then reassemble once the lock is positioned in the door?

 

[mboge]

Yeah, unfortunately it's not the deadbolt blocking it. Because you have to put it in at an angle, the width of the opening needs to be more than the width of the lock when it's flush.

I jiggled and twisted and pushed and prodded... but alas, no luck (and no lock). I'm going to return it and see if the RVLock V2 will fit (according to a Youtuber, they fit on Lippert glass doors).

I thought about shaving down the metal on the stems that receive the screws where it was catching... just enough to get it to fit. But my worry is that it still wouldn't fit (or worse, would fit but I couldn't get the front to connect to the back!).. then I couldn't return it and I'd be stuck with an expensive paper weight.

Anyway, it's a shame because the version I bought looked ideal... but alas. Thanks for the help (and the warnings!)

 

[mboge]

Well... I just received the V2 version and NO DICE! From my eyes, the size is exactly the same as the Trek and it won't fit (stuck at exactly the same place). Apparently the opening in my Lippert glass door is smaller than the guy from YouTube!

Oh well... I guess I'll just be the jerk that has to use regular old manual keys!

 

[Larry Hagerman]

This nis mthe lock I put on my cougar mbi .

RVLock V4.0 Keyless Handle for RV Doors × 1 There is a foam core like mine. Maybe this lock will work. It was a tight fit but got it in with no mods. Good luck

 

[pappy437]

Is this a Glass door or a Fiberglass one?

 

[Larry Hagerman]

I don't know but looks like yours but did not see anything that looked like fiberglass. Here is their site and put inyour model trailer. You can emailthem with your measurments and picturers. They were very helpful for me.

RVLock V4.0 Keyless Handle for RV Doors. good luck.

 

[mboge]

Sorry, I said "V2" above, when I meant to say I tried the RVLock V4, the same one mentioned above by Larry and it didn't fit. The dimensions of the rear part of the front piece - the part that has to fit through the opening - was essentially identical to the first one from RVLock I tried (the "Trek")... it got stuck at the exact same spots with the two rear posts that receive the screws.

 

[mboge]

Is this a Glass door or a Fiberglass one?

It's a glass door.

 

[Larry Hagerman]

Sorry it did not work. Did not realize it was the same lock. Mine was a tight fit but got it in. Have you tried to talk to a glass shop. They have a way to open the opeing just enough to get it in. Just another thought. It's frustrating that they can't make things in a standered size.

 

[mboge]

I don't know but looks like yours but did not see anything that looked like fiberglass. Here is their site and put inyour model trailer. You can emailthem with your measurments and picturers. They were very helpful for me.

RVLock V4.0 Keyless Handle for RV Doors. good luck.

My door is glass. I went to the site, too, and entered my exact model number and both the Trek and V4 came back as compatible. I don't know if my door came from the factory with a slightly smaller opening than the guy in the YouTube video I posted, where he got it to fit in his Lippert glass door?

Although, I have to think that these openings are cut by a machine, so I would think that the dimensions would be pretty consistent... but I think if the accuracy is plus or minus 1/16", then that would probably be enough to allow it to fit in one door and not another.

Even though the RVLock website said that these locks should fit my rig based on the year and model I entered... it also says that you must have an opening of 3.75" x 2.75" in order to fit. As you can see below, my opening is 3 9/16" (3.56") x 2 13/16" (2.81")... is wide enough, but not tall enough! Which is strange, because it seemed like it was going to fit height wise, but wouldn't fit width wise.

Perhaps the extra height would have helped me be able to wriggle it in?? I don't know, but there was no amount of wriggling that was going to make it fit!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[LHaven]

I dunno, but it looks to me like if it were possible to disassemble this lock temporarily into its inner layer and outer layer, you could make this work.

Separate the two layers. Take the deadbolt housing half and insert it into the cavity with the side opposite the latch tilted upward, so that the top of the deadbolt housing enters the door edge cutout first, and your troublesome lug comes into the cavity higher, where it will fit... then rotate the housing to the proper horizontal. Now you can bring the main housing straight into the cavity and (hopefully) reassemble the two halves in place,

 

[mboge]

I dunno, but it looks to me like if it were possible to disassemble this lock temporarily into its inner layer and outer layer, you could make this work.

Separate the two layers. Take the deadbolt housing half and insert it into the cavity with the side opposite the latch tilted upward, so that the top of the deadbolt housing enters the door edge cutout first, and your troublesome lug comes into the cavity higher, where it will fit... then rotate the housing to the proper horizontal. Now you can bring the main housing straight into the cavity and (hopefully) reassemble the two halves in place,

I appreciate the idea... mainly, because I had the same one!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) the lock doesn't disassemble like that... it's one solid piece of metal.

I'm still considering what it might take to take a hacksaw or grinder and shave off just enough of the threaded receiver pegs to get it to fit. I think there would still be plenty of thread to hold the parts together, but my worry would be that I damage the threads. I suppose if I did, a tap-and-die tool could clean them up.

 

[LHaven]

My only remaining thought is that when DW was into stained glass crafts, she had a tool that was like a small router table with diamond-coated grinding wheels. They were quite gentle and didn't require great pressure to be effective. The wheels could be used in a portable tool with a gentle touch. I know others have said that your particular type of glass doesn't react well to grinding, so it would all depend on how desperate I was to pursue a solution. Practicing on a damaged and discarded door would be ideal.

 

[wiredgeorge]

I personally would not modify the lock and not try to grind the glass. I would send the lock back, get my money back and reinstall the original. Get it re-keyed if that makes you feel better about safety. I imagine the door would cost a pretty penny if messed up and don't think the convenience of electronic entry is worth the chance. Just an opinion.

 

[chuckster57]

I have never been a big fan of keyless entry. The keypad locks the deadbolt not the handle and if you lock the handle before you close the door you’ll need the key to get in anyway.

 

[mboge]

I personally would not modify the lock and not try to grind the glass. I would send the lock back, get my money back and reinstall the original. Get it re-keyed if that makes you feel better about safety. I imagine the door would cost a pretty penny if messed up and don't think the convenience of electronic entry is worth the chance. Just an opinion.

Yeah, I agree with you about the door. Too many dire warnings about exploding glass, that I've been sufficiently scared off the idea of grinding the opening.

Grinding the lock, however, seems like much less of a risk... but to your point, is it worth it?

 

[Martian-KEY]

If you want to try making the opening bigger, first you need to watch a video about Pringe Ruperts Drops. It is basically what happens to tempered glass when the surface is disturbed.